Methods and systems for providing targeted information using identity masking in a wireless communications device

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for providing user information from a wireless access terminal (W-AT) to a remote apparatus without revealing a primary identity of the user of the W-AT include generating an alternate user identifier for the W-AT, and providing the alternate user identifier and first information related to targeted-content-message information and/or user profile information to the remote apparatus.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present Application for Patent claims priority to ProvisionalApplication No. 60/948,450 entitled “USER PROFILE GENERATIONARCHITECTURE FOR MOBILE ADVERTISING” filed Jul. 7, 2007, and ProvisionalApplication No. 60/948,451 entitled “USER PROFILE GENERATIONARCHITECTURE FOR MOBILE ADVERTISING USING SECURE EXTERNAL PROCESSES”filed Jul. 7, 2007, and Provisional Application No. 60/948,452 entitled“METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING TARGETED ADVERTISING BASED ON A USER INA MOBILE ENVIRONMENT” filed Jul. 7, 2007, and Provisional ApplicationNo. 60/948,453 entitled “USER PROFILE GENERATION ARCHITECTURE FOR MOBILEADVERTISING USING PROFILE ATTRIBUTES HAVING VARIABLE CONFIDENCE LEVELS”filed Jul. 7, 2007, and Provisional Application No. 60/948,455 entitled“METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DELIVERY OF TARGETED ADVERTISING BASED ON A USERPROFILE IN A MOBILE COMMUNICATION DEVICE” filed Jul. 7, 2007, andProvisional Application No. 60/948,456 entitled “USER PROFILE GENERATIONARCHITECTURE FOR MOBILE ADVERTISING” filed Jul. 7, 2007, all of whichare assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expressly incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates to wireless communications. In particular, thepresent disclosure relates to wireless communications systems usable fortargeted content-message and related transactions.

BACKGROUND

Mobile Targeted-Content-Message (TCM)-enabled systems can be describedas systems capable of delivering targeted content information, such aslocal weather reports and advertisements targeted to a particulardemographic, to wireless communication devices (WCDs), such as cellulartelephones or other forms of wireless access terminals (W-ATs). Suchsystems may also provide a better user experience by presentingnon-intrusive targeted-content-messages that are likely to be ofinterest to a user.

An example of a mobile TCM-enabled system is a mobile advertising systemcapable of delivering advertisements to wireless communication devices(WCDs). Generally, a mobile advertising system can provide such thingsas an advertisement sales conduit for a cellular provider to provideadvertisements on a W-AT, as well as some form of analytical interfaceto report back on the performance of various advertisement campaigns. Aparticular consumer benefit of mobile advertising is that it can providealternate/additional revenue models for wireless services so as to allowmore economical access to the wireless services to those consumerswilling to accept advertisements. For example, the revenue generatedthrough advertising may allow W-AT users to enjoy various serviceswithout paying the full subscription price usually associated with suchservices.

In order to increase the effectiveness of TCMs on W-ATs, it can bebeneficial to provide targeted information, i.e., TCMs which are deemedlikely to be well received by, and/or of likely interest to, aparticular person or a designated group of people.

Targeted-Content-Message (TCM) information can be based on immediateneeds or circumstances, such as a need to find emergency roadsideservice or the need for information about a travel route.Targeted-Content-Message information can also be based on specificproducts or services (e.g., games) for which a user has demonstratedpast interest, and/or based on demographics, for example, adetermination of an age and income group likely to be interested in aparticular product. Targeted Advertisements are an example of TCMs.

Targeted advertisements can provide a number of advantages (over generaladvertisements) including: (1) in an economic structure based on costper view, an advertiser may be able to increase the value of hisadvertising budget by limiting paid advertising to a smaller set ofprospects; and (2) as targeted advertisements are likely to representareas of interest for a particular user, the likelihood that users willrespond positively to targeted advertisements increases substantially.

Unfortunately, the information that makes some forms of targetedadvertising possible may be restricted due to government regulations andthe desire of people to limit the dissemination of their personalinformation. For example, in the US, such government restrictionsinclude the Graham-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Title 47 of the UnitedStates Code, Section 222—“Privacy of Customer Information.” Incomparison, the European Union has a policy of protecting “personaldata” or “any information relating to an identified or identifiablenatural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable person is one who canbe identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to anidentification number or to one or more factors specific to hisphysical, physiological, mental, economic, cultural or social identity.”Common carriers also may be restricted from using personal informationabout their subscribers for marketing purposes. For example, the GLBAprohibits access to individually identifiable customer information, aswell as the disclosure of location information, without the expressprior authorization of the customer.

Thus, new technology for delivering targeted advertising in a wirelesscommunication environment is desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In an exemplary embodiment, a method of providing user information froma wireless access terminal (W-AT) to a remote apparatus withoutrevealing a primary identity of the user of the W-AT includes generatingan alternate user identifier for the W-AT, and providing the alternateuser identifier and first information related totargeted-content-message information and/or user profile information tothe remote apparatus.

In another exemplary embodiment, a wireless access terminal (W-AT)capable of delivering targeted-content-messages to a consumer includesmeans for generating an alternate user identifier for the W-AT, andmeans for providing the alternate user identifier and first informationto the remote apparatus.

In another exemplary embodiment, a wireless access terminal (W-AT)capable of delivering targeted-content-messages to a consumer includes afirst processing circuit module configured to generate an alternate useridentifier for the W-AT, and transmitting circuitry configured toprovide the alternate user identifier and first information related totargeted-content-message information and/or user profile information tothe remote apparatus.

In another exemplary embodiment, a computer program product includes acomputer-readable medium that includes a first set of instructions forgenerating an alternate user identifier for the W-AT, a second set ofinstructions for providing the alternate user identifier and firstinformation to the remote apparatus, the first information includingtargeted-content-message information and/or user profile information, athird set of instructions for receiving second information from theremote apparatus based on the alternate user identifier and secondinformation, and a fourth set of instructions for incorporating thesecond information in the user profile of the W-AT.

In another exemplary embodiment, one or more integrated circuits thattogether include processing circuitry configured to generate analternate user identifier for the W-AT, transmit circuitry configured totransmit the alternate user identifier and first information to theremote apparatus, the first information includingtargeted-content-message information and/or user-profile information,and receiving circuitry configured to receive second information fromthe remote apparatus based on the alternate user identifier and secondinformation.

In another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus that includes processingcircuitry and a memory coupled to the processing circuitry that includesa first set of instructions for generating an alternate user identifierfor the W-AT, a second set of instructions for providing the alternateuser identifier and first information to the remote apparatus, the firstinformation including targeted-content-message information and/or userprofile information, a third set of instructions for receiving secondinformation from the remote apparatus based on the alternate useridentifier and second information, and a fourth set of instructions forincorporating the second information in the user profile of the W-AT.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and nature of the present disclosure will become moreapparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken inconjunction with the drawings in which reference characters identifycorresponding items and processes throughout.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the interaction between an exemplarywireless access terminal (W-AT) and a targeted-message-sendinginfrastructure.

FIG. 2 is schematic block diagram showing the operation of an exemplaryW-AT having an on-board user profile generation agent.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary operation of adata transfer of a user profile generation agent.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram handling an exemplary request forprofile data processing.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary operation of auser profile generation agent.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart outlining an exemplary operation for generatingand using a user profile.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart outlining another exemplary operation forgenerating and using a user profile.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the use of a one-way hash function forclient identity protection when identifiable data is transferred to amobile targeted-message-sending server. A targeted-message-sendingserver is an example of mobile targeted-content-message processingserver.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating data flow implemented by a proxy serverfor anonymizing identifiable data transferred to a mobiletargeted-message-sending server.

FIG. 10 depicts a communication protocol for content distribution in amobile targeted-message-sending-enabled network.

FIG. 11 depicts another communication protocol for content distributionin a mobile targeted-message-sending-enabled network.

FIG. 12 depicts another communication protocol for content distributionin a mobile targeted-message-sending-enabled network.

FIG. 13 depicts another communication protocol for content distributionin a mobile targeted-message-sending-enabled network.

FIG. 14 depicts a timeline for a first communication protocol fordownloading targeted-message-sending content according to “contactwindows” approach.

FIG. 15 depicts an alternate timeline for a communication protocol fordownloading targeted-message-sending content according to a defined timeschedule.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The terms and respective definitions/descriptions below are provided asa reference to the following disclosure. Note, however, that whenapplied to certain embodiments, some of the applieddefinitions/descriptions may be expanded or may otherwise differ withsome of the specific language provided below as may be apparent to oneof ordinary skill and in light of the particular circumstances.

TCM—Targeted-Content-Message. An advertisement can be an example of aTargeted-Content-Message.

M-TCM-PS—Mobile Targeted-Content-Message Processing System

MAS—Mobile advertising system.

UPG—User Profile Generation Agent

M-TCM-EC—Mobile TCM-Enabled Client

MAEC—Mobile advertising enabled client. This can be an example of aMobile TCM-Enabled Client

Mobile TCM Provider (M-TCM-P)—A person or an entity that may want todisplay a targeted-content-message through a targeted-content-messageprocessing system.

Advertiser—A person or an entity that may want to display advertisementsthrough a mobile advertising system (MAS). An advertiser may provide theadvertisement data along with respective targeting and playback rules,which may in some instances form advertisement metadata to a MAS. Anadvertiser is an example of a Mobile TCM Provider.

TCM Metadata—A term used to identify data that can be used to provideadditional information about a respective Targeted-Content-Message(TCM).

Advertisement Metadata—A term used to identify data that may be used toprovide additional information about a respective advertisement. Thismay include, but is not limited to, mime type, advertisement duration,advertisement viewing start time, advertisement viewing end time, etc.Respective advertisement targeting and playback rules provided by theadvertiser may also get attached to an advertisement as metadata for theadvertisement. Advertisement Metadata is an example of TCM metadata.

Application Developer—A person who or an entity that develops anapplication for the mobile advertising enabled client (MAEC) that canfeature advertisements.

System Operator—A person who or entity that operates a MAS.

Third Party Inference Rule Provider—A third party (other than a systemoperator) who may provide user profile inference rules to be used by aUser Profile Generation Agent

User Profile Generation Agent—A functional unit at the client that mayreceive various pertinent data, such as advertisement inference rules,user behavior from a metric collection agent, location data from a GPS,explicit user preferences entered by a user (if any) and/or userbehavior from other client applications, then generate various userprofile elements. A User Profile Generation Agent may continuouslyupdate a profile based upon information gathered that may be used tocharacterize user behavior.

User Behavior Synthesizer—A functional device or agent within a UserProfile Generation Agent that may be used to receive a variety of data,such as user behavior information, location information and user profileinference rules to generate synthesized profile attributes.

Profile Element Refiner—A functional device or agent within a UserProfile Generation Agent that may receive profile attributes generatedby a user behavior synthesizer as well as a number of user profileinference rules. A Profile Element Refiner may refine profileattributes, process them through queries sent to a profile attributeprocessor, and generate user profile elements.

Profile Attribute Processor—A server and/or resident agent of a serverthat may process profile attribute requests that may requiredata-intensive lookups, and then respond with refined profileattributes.

TCM Filtering Agent—A client agent that may receiver a number of TCMswith their respective meta-data, TCM targeting rules and TCM filteringrules, then store some or all of the TCMs in a TCM-cache memory. Thefiltering agent may also take a user profile as input from the UserProfile Generation Agent.

Advertisement Filtering Agent—A client agent that may receive a numberof advertisements with their respective metadata, advertisementtargeting rules and advertisement filter rules, then store some or allof the received advertisements in an advertisement cache memory. Thefiltering agent may also take a user profile as input from the UserProfile Generation Agent. An advertising filtering agent is an exampleof a TCM filtering agent.

TCM Cache Manager—A client agent that can maintain a targetedcontent-message cache. A cache manager may take cached targetedcontent-messages from a filtering agent, and respond to content-messagerequests from other applications on the access terminal.

Advertisement Cache Manager—A client agent that can maintain anadvertisement cache. A cache manager may take cached advertisements froma filtering agent and respond to advertisement requests from otherapplications on the access terminal. An advertisement cache manager isan example of a TCM cache manager.

User Profile Attributes—User behavior, interests, demographicinformation, and so on that may be synthesized by a user behaviorsynthesizer to form profile attributes, which may be viewed asintermediate pre-synthesized forms of data that may be further processedand refined by a profile element refiner into more refined user profileelements.

User Profile Elements—Items of information used to maintain a userprofile, which may include various types of data useful to categorize ordefine the user's interests, behavior, demographic etc.

TCM Targeting Rules—These may include rules related to the presentationof a targeted-content-message specified by a Mobile TCM Provider.

Advertisement Targeting Rules—These may include rules specified byadvertisers to impose rules/restrictions on how advertisements may bedisplayed and/or rules to target an advertisement towards a particularsegment of users. They may be specific to a number of criteria, such asan advertisement campaign or advertisement group. AdvertisementTargeting Rules are an example of TCM Targeting Rules.

TCM Playback Rules—These can include display rules specified by a clientapplication while querying a TCM Cache Manager for TCMs to display inthe context of their application.

Advertisement Playback Rules—These can include display rules specifiedby a client application while querying an Advertisement Cache Managerfor advertisements to display in the context of their application.Advertisement Playback Rules are an example of TCM Playback Rules.

TCM Filter Rules—These can include rules upon which TCMs may befiltered. Typically, a system operator may specify these rules.

Advertisement Filter Rules—These can include rules upon whichadvertisements may be filtered. Typically, a system operator may specifythese rules. Advertisement Filter Rules are an example ofTCM-Filter-Rules.

User Profile Element Inference Rules—These can include rules, specifiedby a system operator (and/or a third party), that may be used todetermine one or more processes usable to build a user profile fromdemographic and behavioral data.

TCM Telescoping—A display or presentation function for a TCM wherebyadditional presentation material may presented to a user in response toa user request.

Advertisement Telescoping—An advertisement display or presentationfunction whereby additional presentation material may presented to auser in response to a user request. Advertisement Telescoping is anexample of TCM telescoping.

As mentioned above, various regulations regarding telecommunications andprivacy can make targeted advertising difficult. However, the presentdisclosure can provide a variety of solutions to deliver targetedadvertising to wireless access terminals (W-ATs), e.g., cellular phones,while paying attention to privacy concerns.

One of the many approaches of this disclosure used to alleviate privacyissues includes offloading a variety of processes onto a user's W-ATthat may, in turn, be used to generate a set of information that likelycharacterizes the user, i.e., it can create a “user profile” of the useron the W-AT itself. Accordingly, targeted-content-messages, such asadvertisements and other media, may be directed to the user's W-AT basedon the user's profiles without exposing potentially sensitive customerinformation to the outside world.

The various disclosed methods and systems may be used in a Mobile TCMProcessing System (M-TCM-PS) (and, in particular, in a MobileAdvertising System (MAS)), which for the present disclosure may includean end-to-end communication system usable to delivertargeted-content-messages (or in particular, advertisements) toTCM-Enabled W-ATs (or in particular Mobile Advertising Enabled W-ATs). AMAS may also provide an analytical interface capable of reporting on theperformance of a particular advertisement campaign. Accordingly, anappropriately constructed MAS may provide a better consumer experienceby presenting only non-intrusive advertisements that are likely to be ofinterest to consumers.

While the following examples are generally directed to content, such ascommercial advertising, a broader scope of directed content isenvisioned. For example, instead of directed advertisements, contentsuch as stock reports, weather reports, religious information, news andsports information specific to a user's interests, and so on isenvisioned within the bounds of this disclosure. For example, whiledirected content may be an advertisement, a score for a sports event anda weather report may just as easily be directed content. Accordingly,devices such as advertising servers may be viewed as more generalcontent servers, and advertising-related agents and devices may be moregenerally thought of as content-related agents and servers. Informationexchange between a TCM-enabled WAT and a content-related agent or servercan be encrypted. All further discussion is provided in the context ofadvertisements as an example of a TCM (Targeted Content Message), and itshould be noted that such discussion is applicable toTargeted-Content-Messages in general.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of some of the various functional elements of a MASshowing the interaction between an advertisement-enabled W-AT 100 with acommunication network having an advertising infrastructure. As shown inFIG. 1, the exemplary MAS includes the advertisement-enabled mobileclient/W-AT 100, a radio-enabled network (RAN) 190 and an advertisinginfrastructure 150 embedded in the network associated with the wirelessWAN infrastructure (not shown in FIG. 1). For example, the advertisinginfrastructure could be available at a remote server not geographicallyco-located with a cellular base station in the wireless WAN.

As shown in FIG. 1, the W-AT can include a client applications device110, a client advertisement interface 112, a metric collection agent120, an ad caching manager 122, an ad filtering agent 124, a metricreporting agent 126, an advertisement reception agent 120 and a dataservice layer device 130. The advertising infrastructure 150 can includean advertisement sales agent 160, an analytics agent 162, a serveradvertisement interface 164, an advertisement ingestion agent 170, anadvertisement bundling agent 174, an advertisement distribution agent176, a metric database 172, a metric collection agent 178, and having aproxy server 182.

In operation, the “client side” of the MAS can be handled by the W-AT100 (depicted on the left-hand side of FIG. 1). In addition totraditional applications associated with W-ATs, the present W-AT 100 mayhave advertisement-related applications at the applications level 110,which in turn may be linked to the rest of the MAS via a clientadvertisement interface 112. In various embodiments, the clientadvertisement interface 112 may provide for metrics/data collection andmanagement. Some of the collected metrics/data may be transferred to themetric reporting agent 126 and/or to the W-AT's data service layer 130(via the metric collection agent 120), without exposing individuallyidentifiable customer information, for further distribution to the restof the MAS.

The transferred metrics/data may be provided through the RAN 190 to theadvertising infrastructure 150 (depicted on the right-hand side of FIG.1), which for the present example includes a variety ofadvertising-related and privacy-protecting servers. The advertisinginfrastructure 150 can receive the metrics/data at a data service layer180, which in turn may communicate the received metrics/data to a numberof metrics/data collection servers (here metric collection agent 178)and/or software modules. The metrics/data may be stored in the metricdatabase 172, and provided to the advertising server interface 164 wherethe stored metrics/data may be used for marketing purposes, e.g.,advertising, sales and analytics. Note that information of interest mayinclude, among other things, user selections at a W-AT and requests foradvertisements executed by the W-AT in response to instructions providedby the advertising infrastructure 150.

The server advertisement interface 164 can provide a conduit forsupplying advertisements (advertising ingestion), bundlingadvertisements, determining a distribution of advertisements and sendingadvertising through the data service layer 180 of the advertisinginfrastructure 150 to the rest of the MAS network. The advertisinginfrastructure 150 can provide the W-AT 100 with the advertisements, andmetadata for advertisements. The W-AT 100 can be instructed by theadvertising infrastructure 150 to select advertisements based on anyavailable advertisement metadata according to rules provided by theadvertising infrastructure.

As mentioned above, the exemplary W-AT 100 may be enabled to generate,in whole or in part, a user profile for the W-AT's user that, in turn,may be useful to enable the MAS to deliver targeted advertisements oflikely interest to the user. This may result in better “click-throughrates” for various advertisement campaigns. However, as mentioned above,generating a user profile may raise privacy concerns because of thepotentially sensitive nature of data that may reside in the userprofile.

Nevertheless, as will be shown below in the various MAS embodiments,privacy concerns may be alleviated by enabling a user's W-AT to generatea user profile while subsequently limiting the user profile to theconfines of the user's W-AT except in very limited (and controlled)circumstances.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing operational details of the exemplaryW-AT of FIG. 1 configured to generate and use a user profile. As shownin FIG. 2, the exemplary W-AT includes a processing system capable ofprocessing a number of applications including a number of core clientapplications and a client advertising interface. Note that somecomponents, such as the ad reception agent 128 and data service layer130, are omitted from FIG. 2 for simplicity of explanation for thefunctions relevant to FIG. 2. The exemplary W-AT 100 of FIG. 2 is shownhaving a platform specific adaptation interface 111 between the clientadvertisement interface 112 and the client applications device 110, andan advertisement filtering agent 124 having a user profile generationagent 210 and a client advertisement filtering agent 220 responsive tothe user profile generation agent 210. An advertisement cache memory 240is shown in communication with the advertisement cache manager 122.External devices, e.g., profile attribute processor 270, system operator(or 3^(rd) party) 280 and advertisement sales interface 164, are shownin communication with the advertisement filtering agent 124. Devices270, 280 and 164 are generally not part of a W-AT, but likely to residein another portion of a MAS network.

While the various components 110-240 of the W-AT 100 are depicted asseparate functional blocks, it should be appreciated that each of thesefunctional blocks may take a variety of forms including separate piecesof dedicated logic, separate processors running separate pieces ofsoftware/firmware, collections of software/firmware residing in a memoryand being operated upon by a single processor, and so on.

In operation, the client applications device 110 may perform any numberof functional applications useful for telecommunications (e.g., callsand text messaging) or other tasks (e.g., games) using the platformspecific adaptation interface 111 to interface with the clientadvertisement interface. The client advertisement interface 112, inturn, can be used to allow the W-AT 100 to perform a number of usefulprocesses, such as monitor user behavior and pass user-relatedinformation to the user profile generation agent 210.

In addition to receiving information directly from the clientapplications interface, the user profile generation agent 210 may accrueuser behavior information from the metrics collection agent 120, whichitself may receive the same or different information from the clientadvertisement interface 112. Examples of user behavior may includeadvertising-related responses, such as advertisement clicks and othermetrics indicating types and frequency of usage. Other user behaviorinformation may include direct user preferences or authorizations.

The metrics collection agent 120 may provide metrics/data to the metricsreporting agent 126, which in turn may provide the metrics/datainformation to other components of MAS (discussed below) that may beinternal or external to a W-AT.

The profile attribute processor 270 can process incoming profileattribute processing requests from the W-AT 100 that require (or canotherwise benefit from) data-intensive lookups and respond with refinedprofile attributes to the user profile generation agent 210.

One function of the user profile generation agent 210 may includeproviding user profile information to the client advertisement filteringagent 220, which may determine advertisements that may be provided tothe W-AT's user in accordance with relevant filter rules, as well asadvertisement data and advertisement metadata from the advertising salesinterface 164. The advertisement filtering agent 220 may also providefiltered advertisements to the advertisement cache manager 122, which inturn may store and later provide such advertisements (via advertisementcache memory 240) for presentation to the user.

A user profile generation agent can be any collection of hardware and/orsoftware residing in a Mobile Advertising Enabled W-AT that can be usedto collect user behavior information. Potential information sources mayinclude, but are not limited to, applications residing on the user'sW-AT, public information available in various accessible databases,previous user responses to advertisements, location data from a residentGPS radio and explicit user preferences entered by the user (if any).Any user profile information gathered may then be processed/synthesizedto generate user profile attributes or elements, which may bettercharacterize the user while using less memory resources.

In various embodiments, user profile inference rules provided by asystem operator (and/or a third party) may drive the particular actionsof a W-AT's user profile generation agent. Note that these rules may beof a number of types, including: (1) Basic Rules, which include actionsto be performed by a user profile generation agent on a pre-determinedschedule associated with each action; and (2) Qualified Rules, whichinclude “action(s)” that are qualified by a “condition”, where the“condition” may define a behavior that needs to be true, and the“action” may define an action taken by a rule engine of the user profilegeneration agent when the condition is detected to be true. Such rulesmay be useful in inferring information from specific user actions orbehavior.

For example, a simple rule for a user profile generation agent might beto store GPS derived location information for the user's W-AT every fiveminutes. An associated rule could be that the location most frequentedwithin a 09:00-17:00 time range in the day be marked as the user'slikely work location.

By way of a second example, a rule qualified by a condition might be toadd a “game” category to the user's list of interests if the user oftenspends more than 30 minutes a day in the gaming applications on hisW-AT.

Also note that the user profile generation agent may also take as inputuser preferences including user selection concerning expressauthorization of the user to derive a profile using location data, otherauthorizations made by the user and other specific information enteredby the user. E.g. the user might input his preference to view travelrelated advertisements.

Various rule-driven approaches incorporated in a user's W-AT usable togather and refine/categorize behavior data may alleviate some of theprivacy concerns users might have. For example, by mining data andsynthesizing raw data into more meaningful/useful forms within the W-AT(as opposed to using an external server), sensitive or personalinformation can be developed and later used for targeted advertisingwithout exposing this information to the rest of the W-AT'scommunication network.

In various embodiments, particular aspects of a user's profile maycontrol portions of the user's W-AT. For example, a user profilegeneration agent may utilize any retrieved W-AT information to tailorinformation content in a manner best suited for the W-AT, including thechoice of menu layout, such as linear, hierarchical, animated, popup andsoftkeys.

As mentioned above, while most profile generation rules can beinterpreted by the W-AT's embedded user profile generation agent, theremight be some rules that require large database lookups, e.g.,government census data. Since memory on the W-AT may be too limited toaccommodate large databases, it may be possible to further refine thealready synthesized user behavior and demographic data by offloading theappropriate refinement tasks to a specially configured server at theW-AP side of the MAS network. For the present disclosure, any suchexternal server capable of assisting in user profile generation may bereferred to as a “profile attribute processor.” Additional discussion ofprofile attribute processors is provided below with respect to FIG. 4.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the previously presented userprofile generation agent 210 shown in the context of interacting withother devices 312 and 280. Various capabilities of the user profilegeneration agent 210 (in addition to those discussed above) are providedin part below.

One of the features of a mobile phone is that it can be carried by auser wherever he/she goes. Utilizing the GPS capabilities of a W-AT, theW-AT can determine where the user is periodically or a-periodicallyspending some or most of his/her time. As there is often demographicdata associated with locations, the use of GPS information anddemographic data associated with locations that the user frequents mayallow the development of at least some portions of a demographic profileassociated with the user. Typical demographic profile elementsassociated with the user's profile using the location information mayinclude, but are not limited to:

Location ZIP code

Gender

Median age for the frequented location

Age distribution and associated probability

Mean travel time to work

Household income or household income range

Household size

Family income or family income range

Family size

Marital status

Probability of owning a house

Probability of renting a house

Life-stage group/classification

Note that multiple demographic user profiles can be maintained at theW-AT for the user. For example, the Mobile Advertising Enabled Clientmight be configured by the network to maintain two demographic profilesfor the user—one for his “home” location (most frequented locationbetween, say, 21:00-06:00) and one for his “work” location (mostfrequented location between, say 09:00-17:00).

In addition to general demographics, a user profile may be furtherdeveloped using any of a W-AT's numerous applications. Whichapplications, e.g., games, a user tends to spend most of his time withor how he interacts with the various applications on the phone mayprovide an opportunity to build a profile for the user based on hisbehavior and preferences. Most of the data mining and user behaviorprofile determination of this sort can be done on the W-AT itself, beingdriven by user profile inference rules fed to the user profilegeneration agent 210. Typical behavioral profile elements associatedwith a user may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Application ID and time spent in the application

Interest categorization

Favorite keywords

Favorite websites

Advertisements of interest

Music album

Games of interest

Many profile elements (including demographics) can be inferred frombehavior mined by adding hooks to observe application behavior through anative user interface application on a W-AT. It is through suchapplications that the user may launch other applications. Applicationsof interest to the user and time spent in these applications can beinferred by monitoring when the user launches and exits a particularapplication.

Rules fed to the user profile generation agent 210 can associateinterest categories for a user based on the user's interactions withapplications. Interest categories can also be assigned to the userprofile using server assisted collaborative filtering on the behaviordata collected at the W-AT.

Rules that may get downloaded to the user profile generation agent 210may allow a server to control the functioning of the user profilegeneration agent 210 in a dynamic fashion. By mining raw data on theincumbent W-AT and synthesizing it into more meaningful information(profile attributes), particular sensitive user behavior information canbe transformed into advertisement behavior categories and user profileelements versus maintaining data in raw form.

An exemplary W-AT can keep track of the advertisements of interest tothe user and the keywords associated with such advertisements. Multipleclicks on the same advertisement may indicate to a user profile agent aninterest level associated with the associated keywords andadvertisement. On the same lines, games and music of interest to theuser can be maintained at the W-AT. Server-assisted mode can also beused to associate user interest categories with the user's profile basedon the user's music and game play-lists.

As a user profile is developed and maintained, such a profile can take avariety of forms, e.g., synthesized profile attributes and elements.

Note that some or all data attributes and elements in a user profile mayhave some confidence level associated with them. That is, becausecertain elements and attributes are based upon inferences and rules,their results may not be certain and have “fuzziness” associated withthem. This fuzziness may be expressed as a confidence level associatedwith a user profile attribute and element.

By way of example, noting that a user is sending more that five-hundredSMS messages per month, the profile generator might say that the user islikely to be in the age group from 15-24 with a confidence level of 60%.That means that if 100 users sending more than five-hundred SMS messagesper month were to be polled for their age, about 60 of them are likelyto fall within the age group of 15-24.

Similarly, when a demographic profile is inferred for a user based onhis/her home location, there may be a confidence level associated withthe profile attributes. The confidence level here may indicate thenumber of times the profile attribute is expected to be accurate in asample of one-hundred users with the same home location.

The exemplary user profile generation agent 210 can also be fed rules tocombine confidence levels on the same profile attribute from multiplesources to come up with a unified confidence level for the attribute.For example, if the SMS usage rate indicates that the user is within theage group of 15-24 years with a 60% confidence level and demographicprofile for the home location indicates that the user is in age group of15-24 years with a 20% confidence level, then these two items can becombined with fuzzy logic rules to come up with a unified confidencelevel for the user lying in the same age group.

In contrast, if a user enters his interest preferences into the client,then such values might be given a confidence level of close to 100%since they are coming directly from the user. Similarly if the carrierspecifies any user profile attributes/elements based on the user data ithas (billing data or optional profile data collected from the userduring service sign-up), then that too will have a higher confidencelevel associated with it.

As more user behavior data is collected on a W-AT and inferences madebased on that, subsequent confidence level, in the profile attribute andelement values, is expected to increase.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram for a profile attribute processor270 handling a request by a W-AT for profile attribute processing. Asdiscussed above, while a W-AT may be able to handle most processing,there may be cases where huge database lookups are required to determineportions of a behavior or demographic profile. An example of such casesincludes instances where census databases, which may require gigabytesof storage, are useful. Accordingly, a profile attribute processor (orother assisting server) may be used to process user information toprovide more refined forms of user profile information.

Before a request is received by a profile attribute processor 270,synthesized profile attributes may be gathered at the relevant W-AT, andsent to the profile attribute processor 270 noting that the use ofsynthesized profile attributes can result in better use of bandwidth.Some of the user profile attributes, which require data-intensivelookups, can be processed by the profile attribute processor 270optionally by anonymously querying techniques to protect useridentities. The profile attribute processor 270 may further refine anyreceived attributes, and provide the refined data to the appropriateW-AT in what may be referred to as a set of refined user profileattributes.

When activated by a request from a W-AT, the profile attribute processor270 may process various types of specific and non-specific synthesizeddata regarding a user's behavior and demographics (e.g., profileattributes) and respond with the appropriate refined profileinformation. In order to maintain user privacy, some form of datascrambling, e.g., a hashing function and a number of other tools may beemployed via a device, such as the one-way hash function generator 810of FIG. 8. In operation, it is possible to use a hash function at a W-ATto hide the user's identity from the rest of the MAS network.

In various operations, a hashing function employed in a W-AT cangenerate a predictable and unique, but anonymous, value associated witha particular user. Such an approach can enable the W-AT to queryexternal servers without compromising on the privacy of the user. Invarious embodiments, a hashing function may be based on a primaryidentifier of the W-AT, e.g. a serial number associated with the W-AT,as well as a random value, a pseudo-random value, and a time-basedvalue. Further, the hashing function may be calculated to provide a lowprobability of collision with other generated values.

The W-AT may use the same random number for subsequent queries to allowexternal servers to associate multiple queries from the same client. Theuse of the random number can help to prevent external servers (orunauthorized agents) from doing a reverse lookup on a subscriber base todetermine a user's identity.

Once a hashed value is generated, the hashed value may be used as analternate user identifier for the W-AT and provided, along withgeographic information or some or items of information from a userprofile, and provided to a remote apparatus.

Subsequently, one or more targeted content messages can be received fromthe remote apparatus based on the alternate user identifier and firstadvertisement-related information to the remote apparatus and/or otherinformation capable of supplementing a user profile. Such informationcan be incorporated into the user profile of the W-AT.

In order to further maintain user privacy, a proxy server at thewireless access point (W-AP) side (see, e.g., FIG. 1) may be used. FIG.9 depicts a particular communication scheme employing a proxy server forsecurely communicating in a mobile advertising-enabled network. As shownin FIG. 9, a W-AT 910 (the “Mobile Advertising-Enabled Client”) can senda request (or other message, such as a report or reply) related to anumber of services, such as for refinement of user profile informationor a request for advertising content, to a wireless application protocol(WAP) proxy 920. The WAP proxy 920, in turn, can forward the request toa secure proxy server 930, which may then create a transaction ID,change out the header to remove the W-AT's identification information infavor of the transaction ID, and forward the request to a mobileadvertising server 940 while creating a look-up table containing thatinformation, e.g., the W-AT's IP address, useful to relay a reply.

Once the mobile advertising server 940 receives and replies to therequest, the proxy server 930 may use the appropriate transaction ID toforward the mobile advertising server's reply. Later, the proxy server930 may delete the look up table entry.

Note that the scheme depicted in FIG. 9 can be employed to disallow themobile advertising server 940 access to the user's W-AT IP address.

In order to alleviate concerns of users that their location is possiblybeing tracked in real-time by their W-ATs, the W-ATs may elect not toquery the server for refinement of location data in real-time. Note thatsuch queries can be sent anonymously and sparsely over an extendedperiod of time (e.g., once a month). A typical schedule could be, forexample, to collect location information every 5 minutes for 72 hours.The most frequented location during this time frame or during specifictime frames can be used to query the demographic profile of the userfrom the server at a randomly selected time between 30 and 40 days or bysome other schedule specified by a the system operator.

The above case is an example of a hybrid approach using both the ruledriven operation of the user profile generation agent along with theserver-assisted mode to generate profile elements for the user whilemaintaining the user's privacy.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram shown depicting an exemplaryoperation of such a hybrid approach using a user profile generationagent 210 having a user behavior synthesizer 522 and a profile elementrefiner 524. While the majority of functionality of the various devicesof FIG. 5 has already been discussed above, further functionality willbe described below with respect to the following flowcharts.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart outlining an exemplary operation for generatingand using a user profile. The operation starts in step 602 as a numberof user profile inference rules (basic and/or qualified rules) can bereceived (and subsequently stored) by a W-AT from a system operator orother party.

As discussed above, basic rules may include pre-scheduled events, e.g.,performing a query of the user at a specific time. Similarly, arespective qualified rule might require the same query to be preceded bya condition and/or event, such as physical status information oroperational status information.

Next, in step 604, the received rules can be used to collect raw data,and in step 606 the raw data may be processed/synthesized into userprofile elements or attributes noting that while all suchprocessing/synthesizing may occur on board the W-AT, some refinement mayoccur using external devices, such as the profile attribute processorsdiscussed above. That is, as discussed above raw data and/or synthesizeddata may be incorporated to form a user profile for the W-AT's user. Forexample, a rule relating to monitoring SMS messages may be used tochange a dynamic property of a user profile when applied to collect rawdata and synthesize profile attributes/elements regarding SMS messages.Static data, e.g., a user's birth date, may be likewise collected usinga rule to query the user, and then applied as an element in a userprofile.

Then, in step 608, confidence levels for user profile data can bedetermined. Note that confidence levels can have a variety of forms,such as a range of numbers, variance statistic, or distribution profile.

In step 610, various received rules plus raw data and synthesized datarelating to various user profile elements and attributes, which may formall of a user profile, may be used to receive targeted advertisements.That is, as discussed above, in various embodiments a used/usable ruleon a W-AT may be used to generate a user profile—along with collectedraw data and synthesized data—to provide any number of static or dynamicproperties of the user profile, and such information may be used toreceive content, such as advertisements, sports scores, weather reportsand news directed to subjects of likely interest.

Note that in various embodiments where user profile data can haveconfidence levels associated with them, rules may be applied to theconfidence levels and targeted content messages may be received anddisplayed based on such confidence information.

Continuing, control of the operation may jump back to step 602 wherenew/more rules may be received and used to collect data and modify theuser's profile.

Note that, as referenced above rules may be used based on physicalconfiguration of an W-AT so as to utilize W-AT information to tailorcontent display in a manner suited for the W-AT to create suitabledisplays, such as menu layouts having linear, hierarchical, animated,popup and/or softkey attributes.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart outlining another exemplary operation forgenerating and using a user profile. The operation starts in step 702 asa number of user profile inference rules are received by a W-AT from asystem operator or other party. Next, in step 704, the received rulescan be used to collect raw data, and in step 706 the raw data may beprocessed/synthesized into user profile elements or attributes usingonboard resources. Again note that any item of user profile informationmay have confidence level information processed and synthesized alongwith the basic data.

Continuing to step 710, a determination may be made as to whetherfurther information or processing is required that may not be practicalon a W-AT. For example, assuming that a W-AT has accrued a series oflocations for which the W-AT regularly has visited using a GPS, asoftware agent on the W-AT using one or more rules may determine theneed to query a large external database, such as a geographicinformation service or a national census database on a remote server, todetermine a likely ethnicity (or other demographics) of the user. Iffurther information or processing is required, control continues to step712; otherwise, control of the operation may jump back to the step 720where profile attributes are used to generate/modify the user's profile.

For instances where further information or processing is required, arequest may be made of an external device (step 712), such as by theprofile attribute processor discussed above (optionally using hashingfunctions and/or proxy servers) to protect user information.

Next, in step 714, the external device can perform any number ofrefinement steps, such as query large databases, to produce refined userprofile attributes. Then, in step 718, refined user profile attributesmay then be provided to the appropriate W-AT, where (in step 720) theymay be used to generate, modify or otherwise incorporated in a userprofile. Note that when confidence levels are available for processing,unified confidence levels may be determined based on individualconfidence levels. Control of the operation may then jump back to thestep 702 where new/more rules may be received and used to collect dataand modify the user's profile.

Jumping forward to FIG. 10, a first communication protocol foradvertisement distribution in a mobile advertising-enabled network isdepicted. This exemplary figure illustrates a possible data flow duringa multicast “push” of advertisements from an ad server. Note that theUser Profile Generation Agent (in the Mobile Device (W-AT) 100 of FIG.10) can retrieve advertisements, then and select one or more of thereceived the advertisements by internal filtering.

In operation, a network system operator 280 (and/or a third party) mayprovide profile attribute processing rules to the profile attributeprocessor 270. The profile attribute processor 270 may also receive aprofile attribute process request from modules on the W-AT 100 andprovide an appropriate response through modules on the W-AT 100.

Additionally, multicast or broadcast advertisements may be received bythe W-AT 100. In this configuration, the W-AT 100 (or other MobileDevice) can be able to receive all advertisements and determine whichadvertisements are to be stored and presented to the user in accordancewith the user profile generated at the W-AT 100 and the filter rulesalso received from an ad server, such as the multicast/broadcastdistribution server 1010 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 depicts a second communication protocol for advertisementdistribution in a mobile advertising-enabled network. As with theexample of FIG. 10, a network system operator 280 (and/or a third party)may provide profile attribute processing rules to the profile attributeprocessor 270, and the profile attribute processor 270 may also receivea profile attribute process request from modules on the W-AT 100 toprovide an appropriate response through modules on the W-AT 100.

However, in this embodiment unicast advertisements may be requested bythe W-AT 100 from the ad distribution server 11 10. The W-AT 100 may beable to receive all advertisements over a unicast communication link anddetermine which advertisements are to be stored and presented to theuser in accordance with the user profile generated at the W-AT 100 andthe filter rules also received from the ad server 1110.

FIG. 12 depicts a third communication protocol for advertisementdistribution in a mobile advertising-enabled network. Again, as with theprevious examples, a network system operator 280 (and/or a third party)may provide profile attribute processing rules to the profile attributeprocessor 270, and the profile attribute processor 270 may also receivea profile attribute process request from modules on the W-AT 100 toprovide an appropriate response through modules on the W-AT 100.

However, in this embodiment, the ad distribution server 1210 may receiveuser profile information provided by the W-AT 100, process the receiveduser profile information, and then provide the appropriate targeted adsto the W-AT 100.

FIG. 13 depicts a fourth communication protocol for advertisementdistribution in a mobile advertising-enabled network. This example maywork much the same as the previous examples with respect to the profileattribute processor side of operation. However, the ad retrieval overthe unicast communication link is substantially different.

In operation, the W-AT 100 may send a request for advertisements whereafter the W-AT 100 can receive a set of metadata representative of thevarious advertisements available in the ad distribution server 131 0.The W-AT 100 may then select a number of advertisements based on themetadata and on the filtering rules within the W-AT 100, and provide theselection information to the ad distribution server 13 10. Accordingly,the selected advertisements can then be provided to the W-AT 100 andpresented to the user in accordance with the user profile rules.

The above approach keeps the user profile local on the W-AT while usingoptimal network bandwidth when delivering advertisements to the W-ATover the unicast communication link.

FIG. 14 depicts a timeline for a first communication protocol fordownloading advertising content according to “contact windows” (seeexemplary windows 1410-1416) approach. This may be used to permitdownloading of advertisements at an opportune time without burdeningother functions of the W-AT. In various embodiments, the W-AT may beable to adjust its sleep mode, if engaged, to the contact windows. Inoperation, a W-AT can be put into a sleep mode to optimize energyconsumption on the platform during content message delivery. It ispossible that in a sleep mode, the W-AT may be engaged in other usefuloperations. That is, a W-AT may be able to be put into a sleep modewhile various timing circuitry (not shown) may be programmed orotherwise manipulated to respond to the sleep mode and a contact windowor other schedule by dis-engaging the sleep mode before/during thecontact window, and possible re-engaging sleep mode subsequent toreceiving targeted content messages or at the end of the relativecontact window.

FIG. 15 depicts an alternate timeline for a first communication protocolfor downloading advertising or other targeted-content-messageinformation according to a defined time schedule. See, exemplary windows1510-1520. This approach may be used to permit downloading ofadvertisements at an opportune time without burdening other functions ofthe W-AT. The defined time schedule permits the W-AT to remain in sleepmode except during the defined time schedule. Again, varioustiming/clock circuitry may be employed to engage and dis-engage a W-ATto/from sleep mode. Additionally, it is possible that when the W-ATwakes up to receive targeted-content-message information, it can receivetargeting meta-data and reception times for futuretargeted-content-messages, which can then be used to determine whetherto receive a future targeted-content-message based on the user profileand the targeting meta-data, and to schedule an appropriate wakeup timeprior to the reception time for a future targeted-content-message.

The techniques and modules described herein may be implemented byvarious means. For example, these techniques may be implemented inhardware, software, or a combination thereof. For a hardwareimplementation, the processing units within an access point or an accessterminal may be implemented within one or more application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digitalsignal processing W-ATs (DSPDs), programmable logic W-ATs (PLDs), fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers,micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed toperform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

For a software implementation, the techniques described herein may beimplemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) thatperform the functions described herein. The software codes may be storedin memory units and executed by processors or demodulators. The memoryunit may be implemented within the processor or external to theprocessor, in which case it can be communicatively coupled to theprocessor via various means.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided toenable any person skilled in the art to make or use the features,functions, operations, and embodiments disclosed herein. Variousmodifications to these embodiments may be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may beapplied to other embodiments without departing from their spirit orscope. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to theembodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of providing user information froma wireless access terminal (W-AT) to a remote apparatus withoutrevealing a primary identity of a user of the W-AT, the methodcomprising: generating, on the W-AT, an alternate user identifier forthe W-AT, wherein the alternate user identifier is configured to hidethe primary identity from devices external to the W-AT, and wherein anyalternate user identifier that is associated with the W-AT is generatedonly on the W-AT, and is not provided to the W-AT by any of the devicesexternal to the W-AT in association with the primary identity;generating first information on the W-AT based on at least one oftargeted-content-message information on the W-AT or user profileinformation on the W-AT; providing the alternate user identifier and thefirst information to the remote apparatus without associating thealternate user identifier with the primary identity, wherein thegenerating of the alternate user identifier includes scrambling theprimary identity based on a variable value; and providing one or moreadditional messages, subsequent to the providing of the firstinformation, using a same variable value such that the providing of thefirst information and the providing of the one or more additionalmessages are identifiable as being from a same client.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first information includes one or more items ofinformation associated with the W-AT.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving second information from the remote apparatus basedon the alternate user identifier and the first information.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, further comprising: receiving one or more targetedcontent messages from the remote apparatus based on the secondinformation.
 5. The method of claim 3, further comprising: incorporatingthe second information in the user profile of the W-AT.
 6. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the second information is derived from a databasehaving census information.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the secondinformation is information relating to at least one of a likely age oran ethnic background of the user.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein thefirst information is a geographic location.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the alternate user identifier is a hashed value.
 10. The methodof claim 9, wherein a source of the hashed value is based on the primaryidentity.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein a source of the hashedvalue is based on one of a value provided by the remote apparatus, arandom value, a pseudo-random value, or a time-based value.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the hashed value is calculated to provide alow probability of collision with other generated values.
 13. The methodof claim 1, wherein the providing the alternate user identifier providesthe alternate user identifier in response to a request fortargeted-content-message-related data.
 14. The method of claim 1,wherein the first information generated on the W-AT providestargeted-content-message-related metrics without identifying the user ofthe W-AT.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein generating, on the W-AT,the alternate user identifier comprises generating an anonymous valueconfigured to allow the W-AT to query all external servers withoutcompromising the primary identity of the user.
 16. A wireless accessterminal (W-AT) capable of delivering targeted-content-messages to aconsumer, comprising: means for generating, on the W-AT, an alternateuser identifier for the W-AT, wherein the alternate user identifier isconfigured to hide a primary identity of a user of the W-AT from devicesexternal to the W-AT, and wherein any alternate user identifier that isassociated with the W-AT is generated only on the W-AT, and is notprovided to the W-AT by any of the devices external to the W-AT inassociation with the primary identity; means for generating firstinformation on the W-AT based on at least one oftargeted-content-message information on the W-AT or user profileinformation on the W-AT; means for providing the alternate useridentifier and the first information to a remote apparatus withoutassociating the alternate user identifier with the primary identity,wherein the means for generating the alternate user identifier includesmeans for scrambling the primary identity based on a variable value; andproviding one or more additional messages, subsequent to the providingof the first information, using a same variable value such that theproviding of the first information and the providing of the one or moreadditional messages are identifiable as being from a same client. 17.The W-AT of claim 16, wherein the first information includes one or moreitems of information associated with the W-AT.
 18. The W-AT of claim 17,further comprising: means for receiving second information from theremote apparatus based on the alternate user identifier and the secondinformation.
 19. The W-AT of claim 18, further comprising: means forreceiving one or more targeted content messages from the remoteapparatus based on the second information.
 20. The W-AT of claim 18,wherein the second information is incorporated in the user profile ofthe W-AT.
 21. The W-AT of claim 20, wherein the second information isderive from a database having census information.
 22. The W-AT of claim21, wherein the second information is information relating to at leastone of a likely age and an ethnic background of the user.
 23. The W-ATof claim 22, wherein the first information is a geographic location. 24.The W-AT of claim 17, wherein the alternate user identifier is a hashedvalue.
 25. The W-AT of claim 24, wherein a source of the hashed value isbased on the primary identifier.
 26. The W-AT of claim 24, wherein asource of the hashed value is based on one of a value provided by theremote apparatus, a random value, a pseudo-random value, or a time-basedvalue.
 27. The W-AT of claim 24, wherein the hashed value is calculatedto provide a low probability of collision with other generated values.28. The W-AT of claim 16, further comprising: means for providing thealternate user identifier in response to a request fortargeted-content-message-related data, thereby providing a uniqueidentifier without identifying a specific user device.
 29. The W-AT ofclaim 16, wherein the first information generated on the W-AT providestargeted-content-message-related metrics without identifying the user ofthe W-AT.
 30. The W-AT of claim 16, wherein the means for generating, onthe W-AT, the alternate user identifier comprises means for generatingan anonymous value configured to allow the W-AT to query all externalservers without compromising the primary identity of the user.
 31. Awireless access terminal (W-AT) capable of deliveringtargeted-content-messages to a consumer, comprising: a first processingcircuit module configured to generate an alternate user identifier forthe W-AT, wherein the alternate user identifier is configured to hide aprimary identity of a user of the W-AT from devices external to theW-AT, and wherein any alternate user identifier that is associated withthe W-AT is generated only on the W-AT, and is not provided to the W-ATby any of the devices external to the W-AT in association with theprimary identity; a second processing circuit module configured togenerate first information on the W-AT based on at least one oftargeted-content-message information on the W-AT or user profileinformation on the W-AT; transmitting circuitry configured to providethe alternate user identifier and the first information to a remoteapparatus without associating the alternate user identifier with theprimary identity, wherein the first processing circuit module is furtherconfigured to generate the alternate user identifier by scrambling theprimary identity based on a variable value; and a third processingcircuit module configured to provide one or more additional messages,subsequent to the providing of the first information, using a samevariable value such that the providing of the first information and theproviding of the one or more additional messages are identifiable asbeing from a same client.
 32. The W-AT of claim 31, wherein the firstinformation includes one or more items of information associated withthe W-AT.
 33. The W-AT of claim 32, further comprising: receivingcircuitry configured to receive second information from the remoteapparatus based on the alternate user identifier and the secondinformation.
 34. The W-AT of claim 33, wherein the receiving circuitryis also configured to receive one or more targeted content messages fromthe remote apparatus based on the second information.
 35. The W-AT ofclaim 34, wherein the second information is incorporated in the userprofile of the W-AT.
 36. The W-AT of claim 35, wherein the secondinformation is derive from a database having census information, whereinthe second information is information relating to at least one of alikely age or an ethnic background of the user, and wherein the firstinformation is a geographic location.
 37. The W-AT of claim 36, whereinthe alternate user identifier is a hashed value.
 38. The W-AT of claim37, wherein a source of the hashed value is based on the primaryidentity.
 39. The W-AT of claim 37, wherein a source of the hashed valueis based on one of a value provided by the remote apparatus, a randomvalue, a pseudo-random value, or a time-based value.
 40. The W-AT ofclaim 37, wherein the hashed value is calculated to provide a lowprobability of collision with other generated values.
 41. The W-AT ofclaim 31, wherein the first processing circuit module is furtherconfigured to provide the alternate user identifier in response to arequest for targeted-content-message-related data, thereby providing aunique identifier without identifying a specific user device.
 42. TheW-AT of claim 31, wherein the first information generated on the W-ATprovides targeted-content-message-related metrics without identifyingthe user of the W-AT.
 43. The W-AT of claim 31, wherein the firstprocessing circuit module is further configured to generate, on theW-AT, as part of the alternate user identifier, an anonymous valueconfigured to allow the W-AT to query all external servers withoutcompromising the primary identity of the user.
 44. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, comprising: a first set of instructions forgenerating, on a wireless access terminal (W-AT), an alternate useridentifier for the W-AT, wherein the alternate user identifier isconfigured to hide a primary identity of a user of the W-AT from devicesexternal to the W-AT, and wherein any alternate user identifier that isassociated with the W-AT is generated only on the W-AT, and is notprovided to the W-AT by any of the devices external to the W-AT inassociation with the primary identity; a second set of instructions forgenerating first information on the W-AT based on at least one oftargeted-content-message information on the W-AT or user profileinformation on the W-AT; a third set of instructions for providing thealternate user identifier and the first information to a remoteapparatus without associating the alternate user identifier with theprimary identity, wherein the first set of instructions are furtherconfigured to generate the alternate user identifier by scrambling theprimary identity based on a variable value; and a fourth set ofinstructions configured to provide one or more additional messages,subsequent to the providing of the first information, using a samevariable value such that the providing of the first information and theproviding of the one or more additional messages are identifiable asbeing from a same client.
 45. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 44, wherein the alternate user identifier is a hashedvalue.
 46. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 45,wherein a source of the hashed value is based on the primary identity.47. non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 46, wherein thesource of the hashed value is based on one of a value provided by theremote apparatus, a random value, a pseudo-random value, or a time-basedvalue.
 48. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 45,wherein the hashed value is calculated to provide a low probability ofcollision with other generated values.
 49. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the first informationincludes one or more items of information associated with the W-AT. 50.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 44, furthercomprising a fifth set of instructions for receiving second informationfrom the remote apparatus based on the alternate user identifier andfirst information.
 51. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 50, further comprising: a sixth set of instructions for receivingone or more targeted content messages from the remote apparatus based onthe second information.
 52. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumof claim 50, further comprising a fifth set of instructions forincorporating the second information in the user profile of the W-AT.53. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 50, wherein thesecond information is derived from a database having census information.54. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 53, wherein thesecond information is information relating to at least one of a likelyage or an ethnic background of the user, and wherein the firstinformation is a geographic location.
 55. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 44, further comprising: wherein thethird set of instructions are further configured to provide thealternate user identifier in response to a request fortargeted-content-message-related data, thereby providing a uniqueidentifier without identifying a specific user device.
 56. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the firstinformation generated on the W-AT providestargeted-content-message-related metrics without identifying the user ofthe W-AT.
 57. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 44,wherein the first set of instructions comprises a fifth set ofinstructions for generating, on the W-AT, an anonymous value configuredto allow the W-AT to query all external servers without compromising theprimary identity of the user.
 58. One or more integrated circuits thattogether comprise: processing circuitry configured to generate, on awireless access terminal (W-AT), an alternate user identifier for theW-AT, wherein the alternate user identifier is configured to hide aprimary identity of a user of the W-AT from devices external to theW-AT, and wherein any alternate user identifier that is associated withthe W-AT is generated only on the W-AT, and is not provided to the W-ATby any of the devices external to the W-AT in association with theprimary identity; wherein the processing circuitry is further configuredto generate first information on the W-AT based on at least one oftargeted-content-message information on the W-AT or user profileinformation on the W-AT; transmit hardware configured to transmit thealternate user identifier and the first information to a remoteapparatus without associating the alternate user identifier with theprimary identity, the first information including one or more items ofinformation associated with the W-AT; receiving circuitry configured toreceive second information from the remote apparatus based on thealternate user identifier and the second information, wherein theprocessing circuitry is further configured to generate the alternateuser identifier by scrambling the primary identity based on a variablevalue, and wherein the transmit hardware is further configured totransmit one or more additional messages, subsequent to the transmissionof the first information, using a same variable value such that theproviding of the first information and the providing of the one or moreadditional messages are identifiable as being from a same client. 59.The one or more integrated circuits of claim 58, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to generate an anonymous valueconfigured to allow the W-AT to query all external servers withoutcompromising the primary identity of the user.
 60. A wireless accessterminal (W-AT) apparatus, comprising: a processor; and a memory coupledto the processor that includes: a first set of instructions forgenerating an alternate user identifier for the W-AT, wherein thealternate user identifier is configured to hide a primary identity of auser of the W-AT from devices external to the W-AT, and wherein anyalternate user identifier that is associated with the W-AT is generatedonly on the W-AT, and is not provided to the W-AT by any of the devicesexternal to the W-AT in association with the primary identity; a secondset of instructions for generating first information on the W-AT basedon at least one of targeted-content-message information on the W-AT oruser profile information on the W-AT; a third set of instructions forproviding the alternate user identifier and the first information to aremote apparatus without associating the alternate user identifier withthe primary identity, wherein the first set of instructions forgenerating the alternate user identifier includes instructions forscrambling the primary identity based on a variable value; and a fourthset of instructions for providing one or more additional messages,subsequent to the providing of the first information, using a samevariable value such that the providing of the first information and theproviding of the one or more additional messages are identifiable asbeing from a same client.
 61. The apparatus of claim 60, wherein thefirst information includes one or more items of information associatedwith the W-AT.
 62. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein the memory furthercomprises a fifth set of instructions for receiving second informationfrom the remote apparatus based on the alternate user identifier and thefirst information.
 63. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the memoryfurther comprises a fifth set of instructions for receiving one or moretargeted content messages from the remote apparatus based on the secondinformation.
 64. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the memory furthercomprises a fifth set of instructions for incorporating the secondinformation in the user profile of the W-AT.
 65. The apparatus of claim62, wherein the second information is derived from a database havingcensus information.
 66. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the secondinformation is information relating to at least one of a likely age oran ethnic background of the user.
 67. The apparatus of claim 65, whereinthe first information is a geographic location.
 68. The apparatus ofclaim 60, wherein the alternate user identifier is a hashed value. 69.The apparatus of claim 68, wherein a source of the hashed value is basedon the primary identity.
 70. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein thesource of the hashed value is based on one of a value provided by theremote apparatus, a random value, a pseudo-random value, or a time-basedvalue.
 71. The apparatus of claim 68, wherein the hashed value iscalculated to provide a low probability of collision with othergenerated values.
 72. The apparatus of claim 60, further comprising: afifth set of instructions for providing the alternate user identifier inresponse to a request for targeted-content-message-related data, therebyproviding a unique identifier without identifying a specific userdevice.
 73. The apparatus of claim 60, wherein the first informationgenerated on the W-AT provides targeted-content-message-related metricswithout identifying the user of the W-AT.
 74. The apparatus of claim 60,wherein the first set of instructions comprises a fifth set ofinstructions for generating, on the W-AT, an anonymous value configuredto allow the W-AT to query all external servers without compromising theprimary identity of the user.